The Point of Letting Go
by jmbrowning1112
Summary: Rogue has enough of waiting on Logan and sets off on her own, ending up in LA with Angel and the Fang Gang. Logan comes after her when it hits him just what he's lost.
1. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. **

**A/N: This is an X-Men/Angel Crossover. Some things you may need to know are I hate Jean Grey and Buffy Summers. They will never come out in a good light in any of my stories. I do however adore Angel and Spike. I like the Angel/Cordy pairing and I'm a die- hard Rogan fan. This story mixes it up a little, though.**

**CHAPTER I**

He had come in from the bar and passed out on his bed, still fully clothed. He still heard her come into his room and over to kneel beside him on the bed. He heard her whisper in a choked, tear-filled voice the most sincere and honest declaration of love he had ever heard and it had broken his heart.

She whispered how she had loved him since the moment she saw him in that cage in Laughlin City, that he was never a hero to her but he was her savior and not because he saved her on top of that statue from super-villain Magneto. He was her savior because he stopped the truck that day, had given her the only food he had on him, and because he risked his own death twice by giving her his healing touch.

She told him how she always found it odd that two powerful telepaths and a man that could smell a lie had ever believed it was just a schoolgirl crush. She had him in her head, knew his every secret, every fault and virtue, every bad thing he had ever done, every fantasy and dream he had ever had; and still she loved him, loved him more than anyone else ever would. She would kill for him, die for him; her love ran that deep. She trusted him completely even when he broke her heart, and he had countless times, by flirting and fucking other women; looking everywhere for affection and sex except her.

She told him how she had dreamed about their children before. They were always around four years old, twins she said, a boy and a girl. They had his hazel eyes and black hair and the boy looked like him while the girl had her features. They were always at this cabin by a lake in the mountains, Canada she figured, and they were so happy. She told him about her countless fantasies about making love to him, having him tell her he loved her and only her, and that every day she felt those dreams slip farther and farther away until she had given up. This was her giving up on him ever seeing her as anything more than the Kid. But she needed to tell him first how she really felt about him, all of it, before she could let go and move on.

She finished by telling him that she would never love anyone as much as she loved him and that she didn't believe that she would ever be truly happy with anyone else. But she wasn't what he wanted, she knew that now, and she wanted him to be happy because he deserved it. Then she kissed his cheek protected by his muttonchops and said goodbye then walked out of the room.

Logan let out the breath he had been holding when she was gone and opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling, amazed at the sting of tears in them. His bags were packed, in the corner, and he had been planning on leaving in the morning. He had been at the school nearly a year now and the torment of being there with her but not with her had finally taken its toll. He wasn't good for her. She deserved someone better. Clearly she disagreed. He had never realized that her feelings ran that deeply, that strong. But she hadn't been lying. She had meant every word. Well, fuck, now what was he supposed to do?

It turned out he didn't have a chance to do anything. He dressed and went to her room the next morning and she was gone, all her things were gone too. Logan ran in a panic to the Professor's office interrupting a meeting with Scott and Jean.

"Where is she?" Logan asked in an odd panicked voice.

"She left, Logan," Charles replied calmly.

"I know she fucking left, I was just in her room and all her shit is gone! Where is she?!" Logan roared.

"Storm dropped her off at her chosen destination just after dawn. I and Storm gave our word not to disclose it to anyone, especially you. She's safe, Logan, and it's my understanding that she already said her goodbyes to you last night," Charles told him.

Logan couldn't breathe. He started hyperventilating and grabbed wildly for the nearest chair before his legs gave out under him. His chest hurt, hurt worse that when he had been shot and stabbed repeatedly in it. She left him. Those last things she said came back to him and he realized that she had meant it literally that she couldn't stand to get her heart broken every day anymore, that she was tired of being hurt and disappointed, and that she was telling goodbye because she was leaving and it was the only way she could let him go, really let him go.

He didn't even realize he was crying, holding his head in his hands and shaking he was crying so hard. The other three people in the room exchanged surprised and concerned looks.

"Logan, I'm sure she'll be fine," Charles told him. "She has money and can contact us anytime if she needs us."

"She left me," Logan whispered hoarsely.

"Did something happen we should know about?" Scott asked cautiously. He wasn't aware that any change had occurred in Logan and Rogue's platonic relationship.

Logan shook his head and stood on trembling legs then headed for the door. "I have to find her," he said opening it. Then he walked out and slammed it shut behind him.

Charles sighed and looked at the others. "I hope they work this out," he said.

Logan was gone within the hour. He had no idea where to start, Anchorage maybe. She had always wanted to see it. It was better than nothing. So that's where he headed.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER II**

Rogue knew she was being followed by them, five men to be exact, and she dreaded the confrontation that was sure to follow. She made her way down the street careful to stay out of the alleys but they still followed her. Damn they were persistent, she thought.

She didn't notice the lone man on the rooftops following along with them, though. Angel had been tracking the vampires who were tracking the girl in the dark green cloak for a while now. She was smart, she knew they were following her and kept to the lit and crowded streets. He wondered what it was about her that made the vamps so persistent of her. He couldn't get her scent from so far away, couldn't see her face because of the hood on the cloak.

She was awfully covered up for it being August in LA. He was a vampire with very little body heat if any. Was she just naturally cold-natured? He could tell she was getting impatient, though. Then she set her shoulders and for some reason began peeling off her gloves as she turned into the alley in front of her. He saw the vamps close in and to his surprise she stopped and turned to wait on them. Was she insane?

Rogue set her duffel down, threw her gloves then her cloak on top of them and turned to face the men as they made their way down the alley to her. A gasp left her as she looked at their very non-human faces. What were they?

"You smell delicious," one of them said with a leer.

Angel heard that and frowned. She wasn't a slayer. He would have been able to tell. And she seemed surprised that the men weren't human, and confused and – afraid. There was a distinct trace of fear in her now when a moment ago she had been confident and just mildly pissed off.

"What are you?" Rogue asked in her soft Southern accent.

"Ooh, a Southern girl. I hadn't had one of those in ages," another of the men said grinning. "We're vampires, sweetheart."

"No," she shook her head and her tone turned bored. "Really, what are you?"

"That's cute, she thinks we're lying," the first vamp said. "Wait a second till we're raping and draining you and you can reassess your opinion."

"That might be harder than you think, buddy," Rogue replied taking a fighting stance. Angel dropped from the rooftop then landing in between her and the men and in full game face.

"She's mine," Angel told them with a menacing growl. "Back off and I'll let you live this time."

A few of them recognized him and began backing up but the first two didn't and growled back.

"We saw her first," the first vamp insisted.

"Dude, that's Angelus. Let's go," one of the others told him.

"I don't care if he's Dracula, I want her," the second one replied. Angel had him by the throat and in the air by the time he finished that sentence.

"Dracula didn't have anything on me, boy," Angel said then staked him and backed away from the dust. "I said she's mine. Take note of it and tell your friends. You don't want to have this conversation again."

They nodded and hurried out of the alley away from the master vampire. Angel shifted back to his human face and turned to see a wide-eyed Rogue standing there. She looked at him and shook off her surprise.

"I guess they were telling the truth. Never met any vampires before, though," she said finally. "Thanks for stepping in. I'm Rogue."

"Angel," he extended his hand and she reached out to take it then noticed her bare skin and snatched it back. He tried to hide the hurt in his eyes at that but she saw it anyway and hurried to apologize.

"No, it's not you. I – it's my skin. I'm a mutant. If I touch someone it drains the life force out of them, their memories too. With other mutants I get their powers too, permanently if I hold on too long," Rogue explained. She put her gloves back on and picked up her cloak and duffle.

"That's why you're so covered up," Angel observed nodding. She nodded back. "Are you a runaway?"

"No, I just got into town though. Then those guys started following me," she explained. "You're a vampire too."

"Yeah but I'm good. I have a soul," Angel told her. "I won't hurt you."

Rogue laughed at that. "I've never absorbed a vampire before, sugar, but I'm pretty certain the one who should be afraid is you."

Wow, she was gorgeous when she smiled. Angel liked her, he realized. She was petite, curvy, and beautiful with long dark hair streaked with white bangs that he knew for a fact weren't bleached and expressive emerald green eyes. Her accent was nice too, sweet and sultry like honey to his ears.

"If you need a place to stay I have a hotel nearby that I use as my home and place of business," Angel said. "There like sixty-something vacancies because I'm the only one that lives there but my friends work with me so they'll still be there."

"What do you do?"

"Oh, Angel Investigations," he took out one of his cards and gave it to her. "We're like private detectives for supernatural stuff. You'd be surprised how often people need that kind of help."

Rogue took the card and read it then thought hard for a minute, asking her inner Logan what to do. He gave her a shrug of 'what the hell' so she smiled at Angel and nodded. "I suppose we could give it a shot."

Angel smiled and her breath caught in her throat. Wow, he was gorgeous. He was around Logan's height, not as muscular though, with the most adorable puppy dog brown eyes and dark spiked hair and a smiled that could rival sunshine in its warmth and beauty.

She let him take her duffel and followed him to the Hyperion. When they entered and she saw Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn all there Angel felt her tense with nervousness and apprehension beside him.

"It's okay, they're the friends I told you about," Angel whispered to her.

"Just don't let them get too close," she whispered back and he nodded. "Are they vampires?"

"No, they're human," he said. Cordelia saw them first and came over with Wesley and Gunn following.

"Hey, who's this?" Cordelia asked.

"This is Rogue, she's a mutant. Don't touch her skin," Angel told them. "Rogue, this is Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn. They work with me here. Rogue is going to be staying here a while."

"What happens if we touch her skin?" Wesley asked curiously. Rogue backed into Angel at the ex-Watcher's gaze that looked way too much like Jean's 'doctor' one.

"Nothing good for you," Angel growled protectively. "Just don't do it and stop eying her like a science experiment. She's just as human as you are."

Wesley blushed with embarrassment and backed away.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room," Angel told Rogue. She nodded and followed him upstairs. He put her in the suite across the hall from him and put new sheets and stuff on the bed for her.

"This is nice," she said looking around.

"Yeah, Cordelia insisted I have a few rooms ready in case I have company," Angel told her. "Sometimes we all work pretty late and they sleep here. Not here, though. This is your room now."

Rogue nodded suppressing a smile. He was just adorable really. It was odd that such a bad ass vampire could be such a dork but she found it endearing. Her inner-Logan rolled his eyes at that thought and she told him to fuck off. He growled at that comment but did as she asked.

"Well I'll let you get settled. Are you hungry? I could order some food," Angel asked.

"I could eat," she admitted. "How much for the room?"

He looked shocked and a little hurt then. "I'm not – you're my guest, Rogue. You're not paying for anything," he sounded a bit angry.

"I'm sorry," Rogue said softly. "I'm just not used to – most people want something."

"Well I'm not a person, am I?" Angel grinned crookedly. "You like Chinese?"

"Is the Pope Catholic?" she asked raising a brow. He laughed and walked out.

Rogue looked around the room and the bathroom then took her cloak off and left it and her duffel on the bed before heading downstairs. The one called Gunn was cleaning what looked like medieval weapons near the doors, Wesley was reading books at a nearby desk and Cordelia was flipping through a magazine while Angel stood at the front desk ordering the food. He saw her when she came in and gave her an encouraging smile as she stepped into the lobby slowly.

She reminded him of a frightened doe, Angel thought as he watched her. She wasn't even scared for herself. She was scared for everyone else around her, scared she would hurt them accidentally. His heart broke for her at that realization. He finished ordering the food just as she sat down at the round sofa in the lobby and tried to look invisible.

"It'll be here soon," he told her. She nodded. Cordelia looked up at the sound of his voice and followed his gaze to Rogue.

"So, Rogue, what brings you to LA?" Cordelia asked.

"I just needed to get away a while," Rogue said quietly.

"Where are you from?" Cordelia asked.

"Mississippi originally but I've been living in New York the past five years," she answered. "I was at a school in Westchester. I was a student there the first two years but I've been teaching there since."

"What do you teach?" Angel asked.

"History and English literature and I helped coach the self-defense and martial arts classes with Logan," she winced at saying that name and Angel noticed. God it was painful to say it out loud. She missed him so much.

Angel knew that look, that feeling. This Logan was important to her, she loved him. He wondered if something had happened to him and that's why she had left.

"I knew a Logan once," Angel told her. "It was in World War One. He had these bone claws and healed from anything. His brother Victor was always with him. We didn't get along, me and Victor. Logan was okay, though, a bit rough around the edges."

Rogue had paled considerably by the time he finished. Then she pulled her wallet out of her back pocket and took out a photo and handed it to him. "Is that him?"

Angel looked at the photo and gasped. "He hasn't aged a day," he whispered in surprise. "This is your Logan."

"He's not mine," she sounded so sad then, her voice barely above a whisper. "But yeah, that's Logan."

Angel handed her back the photo and she placed it carefully back inside her wallet and put it in her back pocket again. "He's still in New York?"

"Yeah but he was leaving soon," she told him. "I just beat him to it."

"Why would he leave you?" Angel could have staked himself for asking that after seeing the look of pain on her face. Her eyes filled with tears that she angrily dashed away and she shook her head then sat down defeated.

"I guess I didn't mean that much to him after all," she shrugged finally.

"What a dick," Gunn muttered having listened to the conversation.

"Honey, if he's that fickle then you're better off without him," Cordelia insisted. "There are plenty of more fish in the sea."

"Logan's not a fish. Logan's – well, Logan's everything," Rogue said helplessly. She tucked her knees to her chest and hugged them burying her face between them and sobbed.

Angel growled softly, not liking her in pain, and feeling protectiveness not unlike what he felt for Buffy and Cordelia. He sat down next to Rogue and wrapped his arms around her, settled her in his lap and let her cry it out.

"Shh, baby, it'll be okay. I could go kick his ass if you want?" he offered. She laughed a little at that. Angel rubbed her back and pressed a kiss to her hair. God she smelled good, like sunshine and fresh spring rain. He could smell her blood too, the same thing that attracted the other vamps tonight. It was innocence and power, sweeter than slayer blood even.

Rogue calmed down and wiped her tears away then noticed where she was and slid off Angel's lap with a slightly embarrassed blush. "I'm sorry. I just – well Logan's a sore subject I try to avoid," she admitted.

"Got it, no more talk about Logan," Angel said with a nod and the others agreed too.

The food arrived then and it wasn't until Rogue was about to take a bite when she noticed Angel didn't have anything.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" she asked.

"I'll eat later," he told her gently.

"But – oh, you need blood. Well, don't you keep some around, since you don't bite anymore?" Rogue asked him. He chuckled and nodded. "I'll get it for you. Where is it?"

"Uh well it's in the fridge but you don't -," he trailed off as she had already disappeared into the kitchen. He heard the microwave going a moment later and then she came out with a heated mug of blood and handed it to him with a smile.

"I checked it with the meat thermometer so it's 98.6," she told him. "That's right, isn't it?"

"Yes, baby that's right," Angel smiled at her and sipped the blood. She had made it just right. He grinned at the happy 'proud of herself' look she had when she sat down and dug into her own food. He was going to like having her around.

"I wonder if my blood tastes different because I'm a mutant," Rogue said suddenly. He nearly choked on his blood and looked at her wide-eyed. "What? It's a legitimate question."

"Well," he said slowly considering how to word it. "It has a different scent."

"You can smell my blood?" she frowned in confusion. He nodded.

"I can smell everything," Angel told her. "Yours is sweeter, better than slayer blood even, and it smells innocent and powerful. That's why those vamps were so persistent tonight. They wanted to taste you badly and for good reason. You'll have to be careful about going out alone."

"But you told them I'm yours and to pass the word along," Rogue reasoned. "Won't they leave me alone from now on?"

"The ones who live here will but baby, there's always one or two out of town vamps that will test the limits and not care who belongs to whom," Angel said regretfully.

"Oh," she nodded and went back to eating. "I wonder if my skin will even work on a vampire, though. You're not really alive, are you? So there shouldn't be any life force to take."

"Life force?" Wesley asked and Rogue paled realizing her mistake. "You drain people's life forces?"

"Not on purpose," she said defensively. "That's why I keep covered up. I don't want to hurt anyone. And it's no picnic on me. I don't just get their energy. I get their memories, their personalities, and then they're in my head and sometimes they try to take over if they're strong enough. I've managed to lock them all away so far but the last one I took too much from did get control for a while and she tried to cut my hair and die it blond and to kill everybody I cared about. So it's not a good thing to touch me – ever. Logan had to beat her out of me and lock me up until I could get her locked away with the others."

"Were they all mutants too?" Wesley asked.

"No, not all of them," she shook her head sadly. "The first was the first boy I kissed. That's when it manifested. He was in a coma for three weeks over a kiss. He was just a normal human. Then there was a trucker when I was hitching rides north to Canada. He tried to rape me and well, I don't know what happened to him after I ran. The rest were mutants. Logan was the first. I've absorbed him lots of times, though. He makes me so I'll get his healing when I'm hurt. But even Logan's down for a couple of days afterward. I hate it when he does it but I don't mind him being in my head. He's comforting, not like the others. Erik was next; he can control metal and magnetic fields. He tried to kill me, put me in a machine on top of the Statue of Liberty when I was seventeen and tried to use me as a battery for his power so he could turn everyone into mutants. It didn't work but the shock from it gave me these white streaks. Logan saved me that time. He promised he would. Logan doesn't give his word lightly. I'd met him just days before that in a bar in Canada where he was cage fighting. I hitched a ride with him. Then we met up with the people who ran the school I was at and found out Erik and his mutants called the Brotherhood were after me. Anyway, the next one after Erik was Bobby who can control ice and Johnny who can control fire. I only got them a little bit. Then there was Pyotr but that was a necessary one in the heat of battle. He can turn to metal. And then there was Carol, the psycho bitch who tried to take over my body. I killed her. It was an accident. She just wouldn't let me go. She could fly, had super strength and invulnerability to bullets and knives and bombs, well except for adamantium anyway."

"And you got those powers from them permanently?" Wesley asked fascinated.

"I got Logan's healing because I absorbed him so often that my DNA structure adapted to it and I got Carol's powers permanently," Rogue told them. "I can only call the others up and use them if I concentrate really hard. I didn't get Logan's feral senses, though, thank God. I get them when I first absorb him and man, it sucks seeing and hearing and smelling things as well as he does. I don't know how he does it. It must be the same for you, Angel."

"Probably," Angel nodded. "But Logan and I have had plenty of time to get used to it."

"How old are you?" she asked.

"247," he said. She looked surprised then grinned crookedly.

"You look good for your age," Rogue told him and he grinned back.

"Thanks," Angel said. Then he remembered everything she had gone through and his expression turned dark and angry. "How did you get captured by this Erik person to begin with? Logan wasn't protecting you well enough."

"At first they didn't know that it was me Erik was after. They thought he was after Logan. And he was a bit distracted by this redheaded doctor to pay much attention to me when we first got there. God, I hate her."

"Isn't that always the way?" Cordelia asked out of sisterly camaraderie. Rogue nodded sadly.

"That shouldn't have mattered," Angel insisted through clenched teeth. When he saw Logan again he was gonna kick his ass. "You should have been his priority. You became his responsibility the moment he gave you a ride. You were seventeen. I'll kick his ass when I see him again. You should never have been taken. He should have protected you better."

Angel's human associates were stunned by how intense he looked and how strongly he seemed to feel on the subject. Clearly the Southern belle had already worked his way into his undead heart. This could be good or bad depending how things turned out.

"I won't let you hurt Logan," Rogue warned Angel darkly. He looked a bit surprised at her anger. "I may be upset with him but Logan means more to me than anyone else in this world and I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt him."

Angel softened his expression and sighed. "I'm not really going to kick his ass, baby. I'm just venting. I'm angry he didn't protect you enough."

"Believe me; he's plenty angry with himself about that too. No one does guilt better than Logan. I know, I have him in my head," she said wryly.

"Oh look, Angel, you have competition for the guilt and brood awards," Cordelia teased the vampire. Then she gave Rogue a conspiratorial smile. "Angel does guilt really well. It's all the killing and torturing he did back in the powdered wig days. He got his soul and now he feels really bad about it all the time."

"So you were evil before you got your soul?" Rogue asked him curiously.

"Very," he answered quietly.

"How evil?" she asked.

"The most vicious in recorded history," Angel told her. "There's plenty written down about me in those books in there. Look under Angelus or the Scourge of Europe."

"When did you get your soul?" Rogue asked him next.

"1898 in Romania," he said. "I already had it when I met Logan. That was in 1916 France."

"Oh," she nodded. "Well, if a soul is all it takes to be good then why are there evil humans? That doesn't make any sense. Erik has a soul and he still strapped me to that machine and tried to kill me and hundreds of others. So did Hitler and Mengele and Jack the Ripper. It didn't stop them from doing evil stuff."

"But they had a choice," Angel explained. "When I didn't have a soul there was only evil. Humans, beings with souls, always have the choice between good or evil. I still have the darkness in me but now I have the choice whether to do good or evil. It's not always an easy choice to make."

"That has to suck," Rogue reasoned after a moment. "We all have something, though. It's like when I'm around powerful mutants. My skin will itch to take from them, like it has a mind of its own. But I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want anyone else in my head. So I control that urge and keep away from them. It must be like that when you're around humans and really want to drink their blood but choose not to because you don't want to hurt or kill them."

Angel nodded slowly. "It's exactly that way, baby. I'm glad you understand," he said.

"So you're super strong, can fly, heal and have invulnerability to bullets, knives and bombs?" Gunn asked suddenly. Rogue nodded. "And you know how to fight?"

"Yeah, what Logan didn't teach me I already had from him in my head plus the others' all knew some things too," she said. "I helped teach self-defense and martial arts at the school remember? Why?"

"I'm just thinking it is gonna be nice having you on team," Gunn said.

Angel had to agree there. That's why she hadn't been scared of the vampires tonight. Still he needed to know if her skin would have worked on them. He couldn't just come out and touch her, though. It had to be done subtly or he would lose her trust. He had a feeling if he lost that he would never get it back.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER III**

After dinner the others went home and Angel and Rogue went to bed. A few hours later Angel was woken by a terrified high-pitched scream and after realizing it was Rogue he rushed into her room and found her in the middle of a nightmare. He took her by the arms and shook her to wake her, not realizing that her arms were bare in her sleeveless nightgown. Her skin didn't work on him though. He did realize that just before her eyes opened and she focused on him. Tears ran down her cheeks and she looked absolutely horrified.

"Shh, it's okay. It was a nightmare, you're okay, baby," Angel brought her to his lap and rocked her. She tucked her head under his chin and calmed down eventually. It took a few moments before she realized his chest was bare and that their skin had been touching a while.

Rogue looked up at him with astonished eyes. "My skin doesn't work on you."

"No, it doesn't," he shook his head and smiled. She smiled back and he kissed her forehead. "You want to tell me about that nightmare?"

"It wasn't a nightmare. It was one of Logan's memories, when they put the adamantium in him. He was awake for it. It hurt like nothing you could imagine. It always wakes me up screaming and crying for them to stop," she explained quietly. "He hates that I got his memories. They give him nightmares too."

"It sounds like he just wanted to protect you from them," Angel told her gently. She nodded nuzzling his neck unconsciously. He felt it though and it sent a jolt of arousal through him. It occurred to Angel then that holding a scantily clad Rogue in his lap was probably a bad thing for his self-control. He gently set her away from him and his erection and had to think of Wesley in a thong to get it to go away before he stood up. He was sure she noticed but she kept quiet and averted her eyes out of politeness.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Rogue told him. He shook his head and tucked her back in then placed a kiss on her forehead.

"It's nothing to be sorry for, baby. You want some warm milk or something?" Angel asked. She made an 'ugh' face and he chuckled. "You don't like milk?"

"Not unless it is with cereal or has a large quantity of chocolate in it," she answered. "I don't need anything. I'll fall back to sleep."

"All right, I'm right across the hall if you need anything," he told her and she nodded.

"Thank you, Angel. Sweet dreams," she told him. He smiled at the doorway.

"You're welcome, baby. Sweet dreams to you too," he said then went back to his bed. There were no more nightmares that night.

The next day Rogue was at the kitchen counter when Cordelia came in and poured a cup of coffee. She tasted it and moaned then looked at Rogue.

"Did you make this?" Cordelia asked and Rogue nodded. Then Cordelia yelled out, "Angel, we're so keeping her! I don't care who this Logan guy is or how much he begs her to take him back, she's staying!"

Angel came walking in with an amused smirk on his face and winked at Rogue. "I think you won over Cordelia."

"I think my coffee-making skills won her over," Rogue replied frowning into her own cup. "He won't you know, ask me to take him back. He was never mine to begin with. And he left me, not the other way around. Logan doesn't know how I feel – felt- about him."

"You didn't tell him?" Angel asked. She shook her head.

"He doesn't see me that way. I'm just 'The Kid' to Logan. I stopped being a kid at sixteen when my parents kicked me out for being a mutant and I was hitching rides from Mississippi to Canada. I love Logan, so much it hurts, and I couldn't stand watching him flirting with every woman but me and especially Jean. She teases him and leads him on and maybe one day she'll let him fuck her but she won't ever love him. No one will ever love him as much as I do. And he doesn't love me back, doesn't really care about me at all," Rogue was choking on tears by the time she finished and then she stood and walked out, went up to her room, and cried her eyes out.

Angel was furious. He felt the undeniable need for violence, to make something bleed and die by his hand. But right now there was a young woman upstairs crying her eyes out over a man he was certain didn't know what a precious thing he'd had and she needed comfort. He was about to tamp down on his need to kill and go up to her when Cordelia put a staying hand on his arm.

"I'll go," she told him. "You go and beat something up. You've got that 'someone's about to die painfully' look."

"Thanks, Cordy," Angel mumbled and went down to the basement then into the sewers to pick a fight with something. Cordelia went upstairs for a woman heart to heart with Rogue.

Angel had no idea what Cordelia said to Rogue up there but when they came down Rogue seemed to feel a lot better. She was also, as Cordelia was, dressed to go out on the town. Their hair and make-up were done and they had dresses that hugged their curves in just the right way.

"Um," Angel began but Cordelia beat him to it.

"We're going out," she said.

"Not without me you're not," Angel growled grabbing his jacket. He leaned in to whisper to Cordelia on their way out, "Did you have to put her in a dress like that?"

"She's gorgeous and sexy and young, Angel. There's no reason to hide it," Cordelia retorted. "I couldn't talk her out of the gloves, though."

"She can't touch anyone but me and other vampires, Cordy," Angel reminded her. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Caritas," Cordelia grinned. "She's gonna sing for Lorne."

"Oh," Angel felt a little better. At least there he could monitor things. He doubted any of the demons at Lorne's place would dare touch his girl. Whoa, where did that come from? His girl? Well, she was now technically. That's the word he'd put out to the LA underworld anyway.

They got to Caritas, found a table and ordered drinks while Rogue looked through the song selections.

"I'm not used to singing in public," she confessed. "I sing to Logan sometimes when he has a nightmare or goes all Wolverine on everybody but that's just to calm him down. I might freeze up."

"Don't worry, sweetie. You can't possibly be worse than Angel or me for that matter," Cordelia assured her.

"Well now, aren't you just the cutest thing?" Lorne said coming over and looking at Rogue.

"Wow," she said looking him over. "You know, I like that shade of green. I have a friend named Kurt who is blue and so is Hank but Hank is a furry light blue. Kurt is dark blue. I don't think I know any green people, though. I like it. I'm Rogue."

"And I'm Lorne," he held out his hand and she shook it carefully to avoid skin contact. He didn't look offended though, just smiled at her. "Whatcha gonna sing for us, kitten?"

"She gets 'kitten' and I get names like 'angel cakes' and 'sugar'?" Angel complained.

"Aw, but you are sweet, sugar," Rogue drawled in her southern lilt. Angel smirked at Lorne.

"I like the way she says it better," Angel told him. Lorne just huffed and sat down.

Rogue chose 'Maybe He'll Notice Her Now' by Mindy McCready and got up to sing. Angel's heart broke for her as he heard the words and the emotion she put behind them. Lorne looked sad too. She had a beautiful voice, though. Angel could have listened to her sing forever.

When she got back to the table all her energy was drained. Cordelia scowled and grabbed the songbook from the table.

"Now what did we talk about? I'm picking something else, something that won't remind you of that asshole," Cordelia insisted and began flipping through it. Rogue laughed harshly and downed her shot of whiskey.

"Good luck with that," the southern belle told her.

Cordelia finally settled on 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' by Judy Garland and Rogue had to admit that she had never sung that to Logan. She took the stage again and had to admit at feeling a little better when she finished. Meanwhile Angel was enthralled by her. The other patrons were too, including a certain bleach blond vampire childe of Angel's that was watching from the bar.

Spike was certain it was the brunette's performance that had Peaches so distracted that he didn't notice his presence. She was gorgeous, he thought and she had a beautiful voice. He watched her go back to the table amid loud cheers and clapping with a rosy blush on her face. Aw, she was shy. That was adorable.

"That was the best singing this place has seen in ages, kitten," Lorne told her.

"Cordy says you can read people's futures," she said to him. He nodded and frowned a little. "That bad, huh?"

"Not bad, sweetie, just – I can tell you that you're where you're meant to be right now. I can tell that your little heart is broken to bits over this Logan fellow. Love like that though, you don't get over it. I don't want to tell you to harden your heart because that would be a waste of a sweet loving soul like yours but I will tell you that you should take affection and love where you find it. I don't know what will happen between you and Logan. A lot will depend on him and he's hard to tie down, isn't he?" Lorne asked and she nodded sadly. "Well, right now you're meant to be here with Angel and his group. You'll be all right, Rogue. A broken heart won't actually kill you, even if it feels like it sometimes."

"Truer words were never spoken," Spike said from behind Angel. He bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the look of shock and anger on his sire's face when he turned to see him there. Spike ignored him and turned back to Rogue. "You have a beautiful voice, pixie. I'm Spike."

"I'm Rogue," she said hesitantly. Whoever this British guy was Angel did not seem happy to see him.

Angel stood faced down Spike stating through clenched teeth, "Spike, what are you doing here?"

"Just came for a chat. I had to get out of Sunnyhell for a while," Spike said taking a step back. "Besides, I got the chip in my head now, don't I? I can't hurt your pet humans. Though, she's a bit more than human, isn't she? Her scent is bloody delectable, better than slayer even. What are you, pix?"

"I'm a mutant," Rogue told him quietly. Spike nodded and grinned.

"Never met one that smelled as good as you, love. And an innocent too if I'm not mistaken," Spike said smirking. "My sire here always did have a thing for virgins."

"Your sire, you made him, Angel?" Rogue asked and Angel nodded reluctantly.

"In my defense I was really drunk that night," Angel told her and Spike laughed.

"I know I was," Spike said then sat down at the table with them. Angel looked at him like he'd grown two heads then sat back in his own seat slowly. "So, what kind of a name is Rogue?"

"What kind of a name is Spike? Did you take a liking to that little bulldog in the Tom and Jerry cartoons or something?" Rogue countered and Angel burst out laughing.

"I told you, I told you it was a dog's name," Angel said to Spike. He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.

"Actually," Spike explained ignoring him and staying focused on Rogue. "I got it by driving railroad spikes through my victims back in the 1880s."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Rogue asked frankly. If anything Angel laughed harder then.

"Would you stop it, you ponce?" Spike growled at his sire.

"It's just – I already had this conversation with you a hundred and twenty years ago. It's too funny," Angel said finally sobering down.

Rogue arched a brow at Spike waiting for an answer. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It was fun and I was bored," Spike said finally.

"So you based your name on something that you just happened to find fun when you were bored?" Rogue asked shaking her head. "That makes no sense. I chose Rogue because I'm meant to be alone. I chose it when my parents kicked me out on my own."

"What was your name before?" Spike asked.

"What was yours?" she countered.

"William," he said then raised a brow pointedly.

She didn't want to give it. Only Logan knew her real name. But fair was fair. "Marie," she said reluctantly.

"That's a pretty name," Spike smiled charmingly. "You look like a Marie."

"He's right," Angel agreed.

"I think we've lapsed into the Twilight zone," Cordelia said looking between Angel and Spike. "You two are sitting at a table laughing and drinking together."

"We were sire and childe for twenty years before he got that soul, Cheerleader," Spike pointed out. "It's not the first time we've had a drink together. You just didn't know us before we were in Sunnyhell and trying to kill each other."

Angel sighed and downed his shot of whiskey, stood and removed his jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. Then he went to the jukebox and picked out a song he liked, which happened to be Voltaire's 'When You're Evil' and came back, took Rogue's hand and led her to the dance floor for a tango. He grinned at her as the violin started.

"Just follow my lead, baby," he whispered in her ear. She nodded. They then danced the sexiest and most sinful tango that Caritas had ever witnessed.

Cordelia looked over at Spike who was watching with a knowing grin at well Angel moved and whispered, "I thought Angel couldn't dance."

"Depends on the dance," Spike shrugged keeping his eyes on the couple. He hadn't seen Peaches let loose like this since before the Gypsies cursed him. He had forgotten how sexy Angel was when he danced a tango. His sire knew how to handle a woman and this little Southern belle was all woman. They moved well together. Spike would bet his car that his sire was hard as a rock by the time that song ended too. You couldn't dance that close to those curves without getting hard.

The song ended and Angel escorted Rogue back to the table and they both sat down.

"Wow," Cordelia told her boss. "Well what you lack in singing talent you make up for in dancing."

"I know the old dances, Cordelia. I just can't stand that damned pop music these days. That stuff that goes on in clubs isn't dancing, it's gyrating foreplay," Angel told her bluntly.

Spike was called to the stage then and they watched in surprise as he stood and went. Angel turned in his seat to watch his childe take a seat at the microphone. Spike needed guidance? Angel couldn't remember him ever needing it before, just the opposite in fact.

Spike had chosen Rufus Wainwright's 'Hallelujah' to sing and he did it well. Angel wasn't surprised. He knew his childe had a good voice. He wasn't surprised at the song either. It screamed Spike and his love for Drusilla. Although he would never admit it, Angel felt bad for his part in their breakup.

"He's good," Rogue whispered. Angel nodded in agreement.

When Spike finished he came back down to claps and cheers and took his seat then looked at Lorne.

"Sunnydale is not where you're meant to be, Spike. That way lies pain and heartache," Lorne told him. "You need to be here, with Angel there. You two have a lot of issues to work through and very little have to do with the slayer. You have a chance to do something worthwhile, to reconnect with your sire, your family. It hurt losing Drusilla and then you got the chip and felt violated and lost your identity. Angel can help you find a better path and remind you what it means to be a vampire too. You can help each other with that."

"You're telling me I have to stay here with Peaches? We'll kill each other," Spike was shocked and appalled. The look on Angel's face was similar.

"That's what I'm telling you. Whether you listen or not is up to you, sugar," Lorne said then stood and walked away.

Spike glared at Angel. "You did this, didn't you?"

"Sure, I paid him to say that because I enjoy your company so much," Angel rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Wouldn't put it past you," Spike snorted lighting up a cigarette.

"Now you're being childish," Rogue scolded Spike. "If the green man says you should stay here I think you should listen to him. I'm staying here."

"Really?" Spike was intrigued now. He gave her a slow grin then looked at his sire. "Can I have the room next to hers? Or maybe we could share?"

"You'll be as far from her as I manage it, Spike," Angel said firmly. "Her room is across from mine too so don't even try to sneak around."

"You're letting him stay?" Cordelia was shocked.

"Well, Lorne said it was the best thing, Cordelia," Angel pointed out. "And I – well, they clearly haven't been taking good care of him in Sunnydale. He's too thin, his color's not right which means he hasn't been feeding enough and there are suspicious bruises on his wrists. He has the chip now so he can't hurt any humans. It'll be fine."

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret too, pet," Spike told Cordelia. "I couldn't hurt you if I was able, any of you. You're Angel's pets, you see, and he's my sire. I'd be breaking some major vampire rules if I were to bite or harm any of you including Marie there."

"Don't call me that," Rogue snapped suddenly. Spike looked surprised at her anger. "Only Logan is allowed to call me that. I didn't want to tell you but I had to be fair because you told me yours."

"All right," Spike nodded slowly. "Rogue it is then. But you get the general idea, don't you, Cordy?"

"Yes," Cordelia nodded glaring at him and Angel. "I still don't like it."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER IV**

It was two nights later that Angel got a call from Giles wondering where Spike was. The Watcher wasn't thrilled about the news that Spike was living with Angel now. Apparently Buffy and the Scoobies liked to use his childe for patrols and a whipping boy when they had a bad day. Well, Angel told Giles it was too fucking bad and 'his' childe was staying with him. He also told him how unhappy he was with how underfed and bruised Spike had been. Buffy tried to get on the phone and talk to him then but he hung up on her.

Rogue meanwhile, was settling in nice, as was Spike. Between the two of them and Angel patrols was a breeze. They kicked serious demon and vampire ass. Rogue was a natural and her flight ability really helped with the larger baddies. Before they knew it three months had gone by.

Right now they were relaxing in the hotel. Angel was sketching, and Spike and Rogue were watching an old horror flick marathon on AMC. They got on like siblings, Angel noticed. He was sketching them both. Rogue felt more comfortable around him and Spike than the others too. It was like the tension just left her as soon as Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn left the building at the end of the night. She even took off her gloves in their company. Angel knew it was because she knew she couldn't hurt them, her skin didn't work on vampires. During the day, though she was always on her guard, always careful not to get too close to anyone but he and Spike, even if she was covered up from neck to toes.

Then the phone rang and Angel got up to answer it. "Angel Investigations, this is Angel," he said.

"Is Rogue there? This is Jubilee," a perky teenage girl's voice asked back.

"Yeah, hold on a minute," he turned and called to Rogue, "Baby, phone for you. She says her name is Jubilee."

Rogue got up and walked over. "I had to call Jubes and tell her I was okay. She won't give the number to anyone else," she explained. He just handed her the phone and kissed her forehead.

"You don't have to explain, baby. It's your home now too," he smiled then went back to sketching.

"Jubilee, what's up?" Rogue asked.

"Girl, you really need to get up with Logan. He's been looking for you non-stop since you left. I overheard Scott and Jean arguing about it. Scott said and I quote, 'Jean, the guy was crying like a fucking baby. He drags his ass back here looking like he's been run over by a train every other weekend and then he's back out again looking for her. We have to tell him where she is.' Chica, I've seen him the couple of times he's come back to beg the Professor and Storm for your whereabouts. He looked destroyed," Jubilee told her. "At least call him and talk to him. Let him hear for himself that you're okay. I know you have his cell number."

"You were the one encouraging me to give him up and move on with my life," Rogue reminded her.

"Yeah but I didn't know he felt this way about you. I mean, when I gave you that advice I was talking from the perspective of your best friend. He was making you miserable, crying yourself to sleep every night and all. But now, I don't know. I think I was wrong," Jubilee replied quietly.

Rogue chewed her lip thoughtfully then sighed and said, "I'll think about it, Jubes. Thanks for calling."

"Okay, chica. Keep in touch," Jubilee said. Rogue agreed she would and then they hung up.

Rogue stood staring at the phone afterward for a whole five minutes before Angel's hand on her shoulder made her jump and startled her out of her trance.

"Hey, you okay?" Angel asked concerned.

"Yeah, I just – Jubilee thinks I should call Logan. He's been looking for me. Apparently he took it badly when I left. She said that he looked destroyed the last time she saw him and that Scott said Logan had been crying when he found out I left. I – don't know what to do," she explained nervously. "Maybe I should call and just let him know I'm okay?"

Angel frowned thoughtfully and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid that I'll hear his voice and I won't be able to tell him no if he wants me to go back. I'm settled here. I'm happy here," she explained. "No one looks at me with pity here. I don't have to go around wrapped up all the time. You and Spike are awesome. I'm not constantly reminded how worthless I'm not compared with Jean or Storm or anyone else there. I hate the thought that he's hurting, though, and it's my fault."

"If he had realized what he had a long time ago neither of you would be hurting," Angel stated gruffly. Then he sighed and cupped her face in his hands. "Do what your heart tells you, baby. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to, though. If he wants to come here and see you then he can but make it clear that you have no wish to return the school. If he really cares for you and wants to be with you then it won't matter where you live."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Can I use your office?"

"Sure," he smiled and kissed her forehead then left her alone again. Rogue went into Angel's office and closed the door for some privacy, settled in his chair then dialed Logan's cell number.

Logan was sitting the motel room he'd gotten for the night in a little place outside Memphis. He came here because he was out of options and Marie had always mentioned that she wanted to see Graceland one day. The girl was a diehard Elvis fan. He was alone. He hadn't been with anyone in a long time, well before she had left the school. But then she didn't know that, did she?

His cell phone ringing on the nightstand drew his attention and he picked it up, recognized the Los Angeles area code and answered it out of sheer curiosity with a rough, "Hello?"

"Logan?" he heard Marie's sweet honeyed voice ask on the other end and he forgot to breathe a second. Then his heart was hammering and his blood was pounding in his ears.

"Marie," he whispered getting hold of himself and sitting up on the bed. "Baby, is that you?"

"It's me, Logan," Marie said softly.

"Where are you? Darlin, I've been looking everywhere," he asked hurriedly.

"I'm in Los Angeles but sugar, I'm okay. Jubilee said you were looking for me and I thought I should call and tell you that I'm all right," she told him.

"Marie, tell me where you are and I'll come and get you," Logan said.

"I'm not leaving here, Logan. I'm settled here. The people I'm with are great. They accept me. I'm not going back to the school. I wasn't happy there. I don't belong there," Marie told him firmly.

"Then tell me where you are so I can come and see you. I miss you, darlin. I – we need to talk, Marie, and not over the fucking phone," he said hating the pleading and desperate note in his voice.

There was silence on the other end a moment then she said, "I'm at the Hyperion Hotel. It's not a hotel anymore though. We use it for our home and base of operations for Angel Investigations. It's pretty easy to find."

"I'll be there in a few days, darlin. I'm in Memphis right now," he told her. "You always said you wanted to see Graceland."

"I didn't think you'd remember something like that," she whispered in disbelief.

"I remember everything you tell me, darlin. I was awake that night, Marie. The night before you left when you came into my room, I wasn't asleep," he confessed and heard her suck in a breath in surprise. "Baby, Marie –

"We'll talk when you get here, Logan," she said cutting him off.

"Okay, darlin," he whispered in resignation. Then they hung up and he immediately got up and started packing. He got his bags loaded in his truck, his bike secure in the back, then headed toward California.

Rogue walked back into the living room where Angel and Spike were and retook her place on the sofa beside Spike.

"He's on his way here," she told them.

"You okay?" Spike asked her. Angel had given him the heads up while she was on the phone. He couldn't say he was all that thrilled about it.

"I don't know yet," Rogue admitted. "What if he just feels guilty about hurting me and wants to let me down gently so we don't lose our friendship?"

"It doesn't sound like you two were ever just friends, pix, no matter how he liked to pretend otherwise," Spike pointed out.

Angel nodded in agreement. Honestly he wasn't happy about this development at all. He had been slowly falling for Rogue since she arrived and the thought that Logan may come and take her from him did not sit well.

"Do you still love him?" he asked. She looked startled at the question.

"I'll always love Logan," Rogue said slowly. "He's part of my soul."

That wasn't the answer he wanted. Scowling at his sketch pad in his lap he muttered, "I don't see how you can just forgive him so quickly."

"I don't either," Spike chimed in glaring at the television. "You've been happy here anyway. You don't need him anymore. Trust me, pix, I know all about being the doormat in bad relationships. You're better off without him."

"So if Drusilla came begging you to come back to her?" Rogue inquired raising a brow at him. He met her gaze steadily.

"I'd tell her to go talk a walk in the desert and say hello to the sun for me," Spike told her. "She'd probably do it too, daft bint she is. Besides, number one for Dru was always gonna be her 'Daddy' sitting over there."

Rogue giggled and looked at Angel in shock, "She called you Daddy?"

"He likes it," Spike informed her cheekily. "Peaches is as kinky as they come in the bedroom, love. I really doubt there's a form of pleasure or pain he hasn't tried at least once."

"You know, Spike," Angel ground out through clenched teeth, "Some things are private. Rogue's a little innocent to be hearing all about our debauched past, don't you think?"

"Please," Spike rolled his eyes at his sire and shook his head. "If she went out and screwed half the city I'd say it'd do her a world of good. Plus, it'd show this Logan ponce that she doesn't need him. There's millions of men who'd be more than happy to take his spot in her bed."

"I think you two are forgetting something," Rogue frowned and they both looked at her. "I can't touch anyone except vampires. Even if Logan wants me I still can't touch him. I can't give him what he needs."

"I thought you and Peaches had been working on your control thing with those meditations," Spike said. She nodded then rolled her eyes.

"Yeah but it's not working. Logan already tried meditating with me anyway. I admit I never really paid much attention because I was too busy peeking at him but still, these ain't working either," she explained. "That's part of why I let go of Logan and moved out here. He deserves someone who can touch him, who he can touch, who can give him babies and everything that I might not ever be able to. I love Logan more than anything but maybe he's better off without me."

"Bloody hell, Peaches, she sounds like you did talking about Slutty," Spike muttered lighting up a cigarette then pointing at Rogue and Angel. "The two of you are way too much alike; only she's prettier."

"I don't know about that," Rogue grinned impishly at Angel. "You gotta admit, Spike, no one in the world is ever gonna have a smile like his again. It's kinda like Elvis's looks and voice. You just know they'll never be another one as perfect."

Angel actually blushed then and cleared his throat shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He was flattered though. Maybe he should try out her attraction for him and see how far he got with her. The charming bastard he used to be was still inside him and unknown to the others he had his soul permanently anchored to him after that thing with the actress Rebecca Lowell last year. He just hadn't told Buffy or anyone else because he didn't want her showing up wanting him to come back. That chapter of his life was over.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER V**

The next morning Spike walked into the kitchen to get his blood and did a double take, the hair on the back on his neck standing on end, as he gazed at his sire standing at the counter in black leather pants and a dark blood red silk button-down shirt. These were Peaches's 'Angelus Wear'. Approaching his sire slowly he hazarded a glance at his eyes and then let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was still Angel and not his sire's evil side.

"Bloody hell, Peaches, warn someone next time you decide to bring out those clothes," Spike glared at the now amused smirk on Angel's face as he walked past to get his blood. "What's the occasion anyway?"

"No reason in particular," Angel said slowly but Spike could tell he was listening for Rogue upstairs with the upward glances he kept making.

"You're not gonna seduce her," Spike deadpanned. At Angel's look of feigned innocence he shook his head firmly. "It's a bad idea, Peaches. She's still in love with this Logan ponce and you have your curse to worry about."

"You're half right," Angel stated slowly sipping his own blood. At Spike's expectant look he explained, "I got my soul permanently anchored last year after the thing with the actress."

"Oh right, Percy told me about that," Spike said referring to his nickname for Wesley. "How come you're still here then?"

"My curse wasn't the only problem Buffy and I had, Spike," he said. "There was a whole list of problems she and I had and the curse was only one of them. I don't want to go back to her. I don't love her anymore. Sometimes I wonder if I really ever did. I was infatuated, obsessed even at times but looking back I don't think it was really love."

"You think it'd be different with Rogue?" the blond vamp asked frankly.

"Rogue's better than ten Buffy's," Angel told him seriously. "She accepts me, and you I might add, without reservation. She doesn't care when we vamp out and she even fixes our blood for us without getting grossed out. She's one of a kind and I mean to do whatever's necessary to keep her here. He's not taking her away from me. I've waited too long to find someone like her and I'm not letting her go back to that asshole. I can love her better than he can. And I can touch her skin. I want her and I'll have her and if you do anything to get in my way, boy, you'll regret it."

Spike took an involuntary step back when Angel got a little threatening there at the end. It always gave him flashbacks when Angel channeled his inner Angelus like that. He held up his hands up in surrender and shook his head. "I'm not in your way, mate. She's all yours," he told him then added with an evil smirk, "If you can get her that is."

That made Angel let out a grin so wickedly sexy he should have gone up in smoke on the spot. "William, has anyone ever been able to resist me when I set my eye on them?" he asked with arrogant confidence.

Spike shook his head. "No," he admitted. His sire could have anyone he wanted, always had, and if Rogue was going to be the center of Angel's affections now then she didn't stand a chance. He wondered if he should give her fair warning. Nah, he wasn't getting in the middle of it. Besides, he didn't want this Logan person taking her away either.

Rogue came in then and smiled at them both but her gaze lingered slightly on Angel and a hint of a blush warmed her cheeks as he caught her looking. She turned away abruptly and began fixing her breakfast. "Good morning," she told them.

Angel walked over to her and 'helped' her get a bowl off the top shelf of the cabinet using the opportunity to brush against her and fought a triumphant smile when her heartbeat and breathing sped up at his proximity. Then he handed her the bowl and smiled, "Morning to you too, baby. Did you sleep well?"

"Yep," she nodded wondering what he was playing at. He was acting almost – seductive with her. Glancing at his attire she decided to flirt back a little and raised a brow at him saying, "You know, sugar, those leather pants are sexy as hell. You aren't looking to impress anybody, are you?"

"Maybe," he answered with a slow grin running the fingers of one hand up her arm in a caress making her shiver involuntarily and her eyes darken before she looked away.

"Don't play with me, Angel," she whispered a moment later. He took her chin and made her look at him then. His dark brown eyes were as intense as she had ever seen them. His other arm came around her waist and pulled her into him.

"I'm not playing, Rogue. It's not a game," Angel told her honestly sincere. "This is as real as it gets. I want you and I want to be able to say you're my girl and mine alone. And I'll be yours in return. I thought about this a lot. You make me happy, baby. I think I can make you happy too if you let me. The only question now is what you want."

The first thing that came to Rogue's mind was Logan. But she had to face the reality that she may never have Logan. There was still a long list of things she might not ever be able to give Logan even if he did want her and love her the way she did him. Then there was Angel who had been wonderful to her and always made her feel beautiful and cherished, like she belonged and mattered. Angel couldn't have children either being a vampire and she couldn't kill him with a touch because it didn't work on vampires. He was immortal but then with Logan's healing a permanent in her DNA now she very well could be too. There was an actual possibility that she and Angel could be happy together. He was gorgeous too. She couldn't deny that she was powerfully attracted to him. And it wasn't like he didn't know about her feelings for Logan so he wasn't going into this blind.

Angel watched the emotions cross her face as she pondered his proposal. It always amazed him how expressive she was. It made her a terrible poker player. Spike had taken two hundred bucks off her one night because of it. Finally she took a deep breath and let it out before raising those beautiful green eyes to his brown ones.

"We'll give it a shot, sugar," Rogue told him then added with gentle warning, "I don't want you to get your feelings hurt with how emotional I might get around Logan, though. I'm not completely over him yet, you know."

"I know," he nodded and kissed her forehead then smiled down at her. "It'll be okay. You have me now and I'll make you happy. I swear it."

Then he kissed her. It was slow, thorough and left her breathless and fighting the urge to let her knees buckle beneath her. When he finally ended it and looked at her, Rogue realized that she was practically clinging to him and his arms were the only thing holding her upright. She supposed over two centuries of practice was the reason he was such an incredible kisser. Those few stolen kisses with Bobby and that one disaster with Cody couldn't compare in a million years to the one Angel just gave her.

Angel was a little afraid she'd gone into shock by the stunned, dazed look she had now. Then he remembered she hadn't ever 'really' been kissed before. Well hell, it made sense now. Maybe he should have worked up to it. No, best to start as he meant to go on and he wasn't holding back with her, not ever. He was tired of holding back and hiding how he felt. He didn't have to with Rogue and he knew she wouldn't want him to either. When he wanted to kiss her then he was gonna kiss her and that was the end of it.

When her eyes cleared and she focused on him the mother of all blushes graced her cheeks and spread down her neck into her shirt. Angel wondered how far down it went. Then she grinned at him. "Wow, sugar, that was – well, damn," was all she was able to get out.

He laughed and gave her a quick kiss this time before holding her close against him. "First real kiss?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, I'll try to make them all that good, baby."

"Did I – was it okay for you?" she asked hesitantly. He lifted her chin to make her meet his eyes again and smiled gently.

"It was perfect, sweetheart. Don't ever worry about that," Angel assured her. He wasn't lying either. Her mouth was made for his and he'd bet the rest of her was too. It made his pants tighten anticipating the exploration of his new territory. He was gonna make it so good for her that she never wanted another man. Of course, it went without saying that he'd kill any other man that touched her. She was his now and he didn't share. He intended to make sure Logan knew that too.

* * *

The rest of Angel Investigations didn't take the news of Angel and Rogue's status as a couple as well as he thought they would. Wesley started in on how it was too risky with his curse and Cordelia actually looked angry at Rogue about it which made no sense to Angel. Then he told him about the shaman and getting his soul permanently bound the year before. That made them launch into a whole new wave of angry outbursts. Even Gunn who was usually pretty indifferent to their inter-office drama actually thought he should have shared something that important with the rest of them.

It was Spike who shut them all up with a loud wolf whistle. "Good, now I've got your attention let me explain since Peaches is just standing there like the Great Poof he is. The reason he didn't tell you is because he didn't want it getting back to Buffy and have her showing up wanting him back. You all should be glad that his evil side isn't a problem anymore and that he's more balanced out now and move on. And I'm happy for him and Rogue. I think they make a smashing couple. There, I'm done," he waved them off and lit a cigarette before throwing himself on the couch and sending a wink to Rogue who gave him a grateful smile.

"We wouldn't have told Buffy, Angel," Cordelia told him. "She's not exactly a big fan of me or Wesley, remember?"

"But you might have mentioned it to Giles or Willow inadvertently, Cordy," Angel said. "I just wasn't ready yet. Please try to understand."

"Well," Wesley clasped his hands together and smiled them all relieved. "This is excellent then. Since there's no threat of Angelus returning then I see no reason to oppose Angel and Rogue's new relationship."

"What about Logan?" Cordelia asked frankly and giving Rogue a steady glare. "Do you just want Angel because you can touch him? Are you gonna break my friend's heart when Logan comes begging you to come back to him? I heard we're expecting him in a few days."

"Cordy, if I thought there was a chance of me hurting Angel I wouldn't have said yes," Rogue told her sincerely. "I'll always love Logan but I don't see him and I ever being able to make it work even if he did love me back, which I don't think he does. He's never been shy about expressing his feelings for anyone else. I waited on him five years and it made me miserable. You saw how I was when I first got here. I'm not going through that again. I have a chance to be happy with Angel and I'm gonna take it. I'm going to do my best to make him happy, too. You have my word."

Cordelia regarded the other woman a long moment then nodded slowly and said, "I'm gonna hold you to that, Rogue. If you hurt him though, we're gonna have a problem."

"I understand," Rogue nodded solemnly. They had an understanding.

Angel smiled, happy now that everyone was through with the arguing, and pulled his new girl into his arms for another kiss. She kissed him back and wound her arms around his neck then smiled at him when he pulled away.

"Aw, bloody adorable aren't they?" Spike said to the others shaking his head wryly. The couple ignored him and the others just rolled their eyes and went on about their business. He wondered about Cordelia's reaction, though. He knew she and Peaches were tight but she had seemed almost jealous there a moment when they first made the announcement. He'd have to look into that later. He also wondered what was gonna happen when Logan got there and found his girl was taken. He doubted Peaches was gonna waste any time taking things slow with her. He'd bed her first chance he gets and if he's smart then he'll claim her too. She won't want to leave him then. They'd be bound by vampire magic after that and there was no way to break it unless the vampire agreed to free the one bound to them or the one bound to them dies. Spike didn't see Angel giving Rogue up for anything or anyone, though and for all they knew she couldn't die. Things were certainly about to get interesting around here.


End file.
